Belgian-owned retailer Cora has launched new advertisements for its back-to-school campaign in Hungary that feature characters with striking similarities to those from two manga and anime franchises, Azumanga Daioh (right) and Itazura na Kiss (below). The characters appear both on the Hungarian Cora website and in the store's catalog.

Cora owns multiple chains of supermarkets and superstores throughout Belgium, France, Hungary, Romania, Luxembourg, and Antilles; however, only the Hungarian Cora website currently features the advertising in question.

This past May, Denny's Japan launched a new website section featuring characters similar in appearance to the leads in kakifly's K-ON! manga. Denny's Japan has since launched an official K-On!! dessert menu last month. Characters similar to the ones in the Haruhi Suzumiya franchise have appeared on everything from Belarusian chocolate waffles and a Canadian Tylenol commercial to a protest sign in the Gaza Strip and a Chinese pamphlet about the Beijing Olympics.

Earlier in the year, comic artist Nick Simmons' series Incarnate was put on hold due to accusations that Simmons had plagiarized Tite Kubo's manga Bleach. In 2005 Yui Suegetsu, creator of the manga Flower of Eden, was accused of plagiarizing Takehiko Inoue's manga Slam Dunk and REAL. Kodansha apologized in 2007 for similarities between its series Megabaka and the Shueisha-published manga Death Note.


So...thoughts?

I'm predicting Mappy rage.